Tiglath-Pileser III

Tiglath-Pileser III (died 727 BC) was King of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 745 BC to 727 BC, succeeding Ashur-nirari V and preceding Shalmaneser V.

Biography
Pulu was the son of King Adad-nirari III, and he served as Governor of Kalhu before seizing the throne in a bloody coup in 745 BC, killing King Ashur-nirari V and the royal family. He assumed the regnal name "Tiglath-Pileser", and, in the first year of his reign, he annexed Babylonia to Assyria and defeated the powerful Armenian kingdom of Urartu. Tiglath-Pileser defeated the Medes before conquering the Hittites, Syria, and Phoenicia, and he took Arpad in 740 BC and annexed it as a province, while he subjected Hamath to tribute. In 740 BC, he defeated King Uzziah of Judah, and he also subjugated Damascus, the Arabs under Queen Zabibe, Menahem of Israel, and Sama'l, forcing all of them to pay tribute. From 737 to 736 BC, he conquered much of Iran after subduing the Medes and Persians, and many of the inhabitants were enslaved and deported to other parts of the empire. In 729 BC, he crowned himself "King of Babylon" after defeating King Nabu-mukin-zeri. He later defeated King Pekah of Israel, who had allied with the Arameans against his ally, King Ahaz of Judah. After Pekah's defeat, Tiglath-Pileser deported the Reubenites, Gadites, and Manasseh's tribe to other parts of his empire, and he installed Hoshea as the Judean puppet king. Tiglath-Pileser concluded his extensive campaign by ravaging Aramea, seizing Damascus, executing the Aramean king Rezin, and deporting the survivors to Kir. Tiglath-Pileser then launched a series of reforms to strengthen the empire, decreasing the size of the provinces in order to limit the governors' powers, and greatly expanding the Assyrian army to ensure that it could campaign annually. He died in 727 BC, and he was succeeded by his son Shalmaneser V.